Guide mechanism



Feb. 17, 1942. T. L. BURRELL GUIDE MECHANISM Filed May 5, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Feb. 17, 1942. T. L. BURRELL GUIDE MECHANISM Filed May 3, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 lill nllllll lllIllllll lNVENTOR Q?MW ATTORNEY Feb. 17, 1942. T. L. BURRELL 2,273,087

GUIDE MECHANISM I Filed May 3, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ygfluw/ ATTORN EY Feb. 17, 1942. T, l BURRELL 2,273,087

GUIDE MECHANISM Filed May 3, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 17, 1942 uNiTsu s-rfAa s;

TENT OFFICE This invention is animprovement in guidesfor directing continuously-moving strip material into a plurality of coiling devices.

Heretoiore, many diiflculties have arisen through the use of conventional guides or deflecting gates as applied to hot strip. coilers in that the strip is soft and, as the end of the slab from which the strip is formed is not perfectly square, the leading end is usually in the form of a fishtail, so that by virtue of the bounding action of thestrip passing along the conveyor the leading. end is caused to strike the guide or deflector and become doubled back on itself. When it becomes. necessary to remove such fromthe strip, as these difficulties arise,

considerable loss oftimeand labor as Well as loss due to shutdown of the mill is caused.

It is an object of this inventionto provide apparatus for overcomingthe objections to and the difliculties encountered. in connection with the use of conventional-hot stripzcoiler guides.

Another object of theinvention is to provide a flexible strip guide which may be adjusted tosuit various. conditions encountered in the coiling of hot stripmaterial as it issues froma mill.

A further. object is to provideapparatus for.

positively forcingtheileading end of the strip material down toward the conveyor in order toprovide for freely feeding .the strip to a coiler.

Stilla further object of the invention. isv to provide a continuousxbelt, above the conveyor and inclined thereto, moving at a speed greater thanthat of the strip,.fr engaging the end of the, strip and. forcing it down against the conveyor to prevent its becoming fouled by striking the open gate leading to the coiler.

These and various other objects of the invention as well as its various other novelfeatures and advantages will be apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure l is a plan view of the flying guide,

Figure 2 is a front elevation view; showing the guide in its high and low positions, taken at IIII of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a side elevation view of the guide,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken at IVIV of Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a side elevation view of. the. flying guide in combination with a hot rolling. mill, conveyor, guides and coilers, and

Figure 6 is a modification of the flying guide.

With reference to the drawings, theapparatussconsistsof, a conveyor l, stripguide-runitrfl,

deflecting gates-3 and 4; and conventional hot coilers 5 and G.

The supporting structure of guide 2 consists of two plates 1 and 8 each of which is secured H tothe upper ends .of long studbolts. 9, and two laterally extending I-beams :H welded at'their ends .to the plates 1 and 8: Secured to oneend of each of the twoplates is aninclined member: (2, the lower ends of which are rigidly secured to the side guards I3 of conveyor l to which are also secured the lower ends of stud bolts9.

Slidably mounted on studbolts 9 "bym'eans of guides l4, through which the bolts pass, are two vertically-movable tapering frames 15: At the lowermost portion of frames l5 are secured two tending fromthe bottom 'of: cylinders 22*are For pinned to lugs 21 welded: to-theframesit; raising and lowering framesifi 'and'the apparatus supported thereby; fluid-pressure is applied to-cylinders 22' through. connecting pipes EBirom a suitable source -ofsupply (not shown).

A-cooling system forapplying a spray of cooling :fluid to the belt 21 and shafts ll-and' iii comprises apipe .29 through which the coolant passes from a suitable source. of supply (not shown) to two pipes 3| extending in opposite directions to laterally-positioned spray pipes 32'. At the front or upper spray a .curvedbaffle 33 is secured for directing the coolant downwardly toward the conveyor I so as to prevent its bein thrown outwardlyaway from the apparatus. An adjusting valve 34 may be regulated for increasing or decreasing the flow of coolant to the two spray pipes.

Two motors 35 and 3S suitably supported on overhanging members 31 and 38 secured to one of the frames I5 are coupled to shafts H and i9 through couplings Ila and Hm respectively, and connected together electrically so that the same speeds may be maintained in order-to prevent slippage between -"the. belt and the shafts. Although not shown; suitable controls may be provided .for driving-ithe' two motors'35 and 36 at any desired speeds.

Positioned across the conveyor I and adjacent to shaft I1 is an extended guide 39, secured at its front end to a spring 39a, against which strike the front or strip-deflecting ends of gates 3 and 4 when either one is raised for directing the strip to its respective coiling device. It will be apparent that when gate 3 is opened, the strip will pass downwardly between pinch rolls M and through throat 42 to coiler 5 and when gate 4 is opened, the strip will pass downwardly between pinch rolls 43 and through throat 44 to coiler 5.

A modified form of my strip guide unit disclosed in Figure 6 includes a supporting structure, adjusting mechanism, and cooling device similar to that provided for in the embodiment described heretofore. The continuous belt and the shafts over which it passes are replaced with a plurality of grooved rollers 5| and train of gears 52 driven from a suitable drive connected thereto. As will be noted, the raised portions of one roller are inserted in the grooves of the adjacent one so that the peripheries of the rolls overlap. A grill 53, properly secured to the side frames and covering the recess between adjacent rollers, is provided in order to prevent the leading end of the strip as itengages the guides from catching in the recess and doubling back on itself.

The apparatus having been described in detail the method of operating the flying strip guide may be briefly summarized as follows:

As disclosed in Figure 3, the vertically-movable frames I5 together with belt 2| and shafts I1 and I9 are lowered to the bottom position by applying fluid pressure to the upper end of double-acting pistons within cylinders 22, the motors 35 and 36 started, and valve 34 opened to permit the coolant to pass through the spray pipes 32 to the belt 2I and shafts I! and I9. Depending upon the coiler into which the leading end of the strip is to pass, one or the other of gates 3 or 4 is raised to the open position.

At this juncture the strip is started through the mills. As it approaches the flying guide, there is a tendency for the leading end to extend upwardly away from the conveyor, which condition must be corrected by forcing the end downwardly against the conveyor in order that the strip be properly fed to the coilers. its inclined position, will engage the end of the strip intermediate the two shafts I! and I9 and as it is traveling at a greater linear speed than that of the strip, will force the end down against the rolls of conveyor I and thus cause the strip to pass without difficulty to one of the coilers. As soon as the strip end has passed into one of the coilers, the frames I5 together with belt 2I and shafts I I and I 9 are raised to the upper position, as disclosed in Figure 4, by applying fluid pressure to the lower end of the double-acting pistons within cylinders 22, and retained in this position until another strip to be coiled issues from the mill or other strip-processing apparatus.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle .and construction of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiments. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

The belt 2I, due to 1. Apparatus for guiding strip material passing along a conveyor or the like comprising a pair of vertically-movable parallel frames, strip endengaging means inclined to the horizontal mounted between said frames, means for actuating said strip end-engaging means, and means for adjusting said frames vertically.

2. Apparatus for guiding strip material passing along a conveyor or the like comprising a pair of vertically-movable parallel frames, strip end-engaging means inclined to the horizontal mounted between said frames, means positioned adjacent to said strip end-engaging means for applying a coolant thereto, means for actuating said strip end-engaging means, and means for adjusting said frames vertically.

3. Apparatus for guiding strip material passing along a conveyor or the like comprising a pair of movable parallel frames, strip end-engaging means inclined to the horizontal mounted between said frames, means positioned adjacent to said strip end-engaging means for applying a coolant thereto, means for actuating said strip end-engaging means, means for raising and lowering said frames, and guide means for restraining said frame to move substantially in a vertical direction.

4. Apparatus for use in combination with a conveyor and a plurality of coiling devices for guiding strip material comprising a pair of movable parallel frames, means inclined to the horizontal mounted between said frames for engaging said strip, means positioned adjacent to said strip-engaging means for applying a coolant thereto, means for actuating said strip-engaging means, guide means adjacent to said strip-enaging means restraining the strip to pass in a well-defined path beyond said last-mentioned means, means for raising and lowering said frames, and guide means for restraining said frames to move substantially in a vertical direction.

5. Apparatus for use in combination with a conveyor and a plurality of coiling devices comprising a pair of movable parallel frames, stripguiding means inclined to the horizontal comprising a continuous belt passing over a pair of parallel shafts, means positioned adjacent to said strip-guiding means for applying a coolant thereto, means for actuating said strip-guiding means, a second guide means adjacent to said strip-guiding means for restraining the strip to pass in a well-defined path beyond said lastmentioned means, means for raising and lowering said frames, and guide means for restraining said frames to move substantially in a vertical direction.

6. Apparatus for use in combination with a conveyor and a plurality of coiling devices comprising a pair of movable parallel frames, stripguiding means inclined to the horizontal comprising a continuous belt passing over a pair of parallel shafts, means comprising a plurality of spray pipes adjacent to and extending across said continuous belt for applying a coolant thereto, means for actuating said strip-guiding means, a yieldable guide means forming a restricted passage with the conveyor for restraining the strip to pass in a well-defined path beyond said last-mentioned means, means for raising and lowering said frames, and guide mean for restraining said frames to move substantially in a vertical direction.

'7. Apparatus for use in combination with a conveyor and a plurality of coiling devices comprising a pair of movable parallel frames, stripguiding means inclined to the horizontal comprising a plurality of rollers provided with a plurality of axially-spaced peripheral grooves and positioned so that the raised portions of one roller registers with the grooves of the roller adjacent thereto, means for actuating said stripguiding means, means adjacent to said stripguiding means for restraining the strip to pass in a well-defined path beyond said last-mentioned means, means for raising and lowering said frames, and guide means for restraining said 

